Episode 195 of Comic Timing finally hits the stands, as Ian, Raph, and Kris gather together to discuss the ever-changing world of comic shops. This entire conversation was spurred on by the closing of one of New York City’s oldest shops, St. Marks Comics. The store was beloved by some, and not so much by others. We discuss why this was the case, what it takes to run a comic shop in this day and age, and how stores can adapt and grow to welcome in customers for years to come, and how the comics industry can do the same, including the 100-page giants that are now no longer Walmart exclusives. Plus, some talk on how comic shops in America can take some cues from what shops do overseas.

Some other shops mentioned on this episode include Isotope Comics in San Francisco, Amalgam Comics & Coffeehouse and Brave New Worlds in Philadelphia, Anyone Comics, Desert Island Comics and Bulletproof Comics in Brooklyn, Challengers Comics and Gmart Comics in Chicago, Docking Bay 93 in Mount Vernon and Olympic Comics and Cards in Lacey, Washington, Collector Cave in The Bronx, Forbidden Planet, Midtown Comics, JHU Comics and Montasy Comics in Manhattan, and overseas shops like the main Forbidden Planet in London, Smallville Comics in South Africa, All-Star Comics in Melbourne, Bulles en tête in Paris, and Galaxy Comics and Collectibles in Winnipeg.

You can e-mail the show at [email protected] and be sure to Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ComicTiming. You can follow Ian on Twitter @i_am_scifi, on Instagram at i_am_scifi or on Tumblr at heehaw-ds9.tumblr.com, and he is now a regular voice in the rotation on the Comic Geek Speak podcast; Brent isn’t on this episode, but he is on Twitter @kossinab, and he posts regularly to YouTube on his channel, BK’s Bullets; Raph can be found on Twitter @RaphDoesStuff and at the Nerd Ranting blog, and he posts articles and comic reviews regularly for ComicsVerse. He also works occasionally at Midtown Comics so do stop on by and say hello. Kris is on Twitter @lampbane and @KrisNaudus for the professional Tweets, and Instagram at lampbane, and she writes and contributes content regularly over at Engadget; most recently, she was at Toy Faire and got to play with some cool Hot Wheels and Lego.

And please, if you have any funds to spare, do throw a couple of bucks Raph’s way. He has a GoFundMe set up as he awaits disability, as he is currently dealing with regular kidney dialysis and can only do so much on a day to day basis. Any little bit helps keep Raph rolling on a regular basis.

We hope to post a bit more regularly in the coming months, so until next time, read some good stuff!